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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29056986">Fire Lilies and Jasmine</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/antaresnebula/pseuds/antaresnebula'>antaresnebula</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aang (Avatar) Needs a Hug, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Azula (Avatar) Redemption, Badass Katara (Avatar), F/F, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Zuko (Avatar), Sibling Bonding, Sibling Rivalry, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 07:40:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>12,023</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29056986</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/antaresnebula/pseuds/antaresnebula</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>long-term zukka fic, stretching from Ba Sing Se, to after the end of the ATLA timeline.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aang/Ty Lee (Avatar), Azula/Katara (Avatar), Minor or Background Relationship(s), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>46</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Realizations</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>IMPORTANT: the other ships that aren't zukka will not show up for a while, sorry :(<br/>+ it'll stay this rating for now, but depending on ~what~ I'm willing to do, that may change...</p><p>anyways, I'm really excited to write this, and I should be updating at least twice a week.  thank you so much for reading &lt;3</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It wasn’t like Zuko, ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>or rather, Lee’</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he thought to himself, really hated working at the Pao Family Tea House. It certainly wasn’t the hardest thing he had ever done, but it was the customers that made it intolerable. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pouring the tea and warming pastries was actually oddly therapeutic, as he found, but the ridiculous orders and unnecessary rudeness of the people that constantly came in and out of the store made it near-unbearable. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mr. Pao had made it clear that Zuko needed to try much harder, and Iroh said that he would need to find work somewhere else if he lost his job; the two desperately needed money. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He and Iroh had come to Ba Sing Se on a refugee ferry, and Zuko was at first appalled at what the fire nation was causing, but then his brain reminded him that they were just Earth Kingdom peasants; they didn’t matter in the greater scheme of things.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He and his uncle had a limited supply of money, which felt very odd to him; he had always had far more than enough money, and all of a sudden, he wasn’t able to afford even a loaf of bread. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a couple days, somehow, Iroh had managed to snag the two of them jobs at a run-down, crappy Tea Shop, in the lower ring, of all places. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eventually, they had enough money for a down payment on a tiny apartment nearby, and Zuko finally had somewhere to scream at himself in private; Iroh didn’t need to know how much turmoil he was going through. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zuko knew he would never be welcomed home. He had failed. The Avatar had escaped, and who knew how much shit his father would blame him for, deserved or not. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Still, there was a tiny fragment of hope in Zuko’s chest, that </span>
  <em>
    <span>when</span>
  </em>
  <span> he eventually captured the Avatar, he would finally be welcomed home, and accepted by his father. </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>It was an early wednesday morning, when Zuko saw him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A reasonably tall guy with gangly limbs, dark skin, and a haphazard undercut entered the shop, and made his way over to a table. For just a second, Zuko didn’t pay him any attention, but then he saw the boy’s face. Bright blue eyes scanned the table menu, and with growing horror, he recognized the boy’s boomerang poking out of his water tribe getup. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His blood ran cold, and Zuko almost choked on the air. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>No, no, no. He couldn't be here</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He quietly inched back behind the counter, towards the safety of the kitchen, when Mr. Pao grabbed him by the shoulder, “Go check on the other customers, see if anyone has any orders.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko nodded slowly, internally horrified. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wound around the water tribe warrior, taking orders and collecting payments, as far away from him as he could, but when Pao shot him a deadly glare, Zuko grimaced, and slowly made his way over to the table. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The boy, whose name he couldn’t remember, looked up from a menu, and smiled at him, while Zuko purposefully looked sideways at him, only showing him the unscarred side of his face, hoping that he wouldn’t recognize him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy stared for a moment, and Zuko grew uncomfortable. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Did he know?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello, my name is Lee,” Zuko said, intentionally lowering his voice, “What can I get you today?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy looked down at the menu, furrowing his brows in confusion, and Zuko felt a weird fluttering feeling in his stomach. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um, my name’s Sokka,” he said. Remembrance hit Zuko like a ton of bricks. How could he have forgotten? If he was going to capture the Avatar, he needed to be able to remember important things, like the actual names of his enemies. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He continued, “I don’t really know what to get. What do you recommend?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko blinked, and instantly was overcome with a feeling of nervousness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Why was </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span> asking what Zuko himself preferred? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… like the Jasmine tea.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka grinned at him, “Alright, I'll have that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko felt relieved for just a split second, but then the warrior-boy eyed him with a more curious look, “I really like your eyes. They’re really pretty.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck. Why was he talking about his eyes?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.. thank you. I’ll…. Be back with your tea soon.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka smiled, and gave a small wave. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zuko left as quickly as he could, taking special care to keep the left side of his face hidden as he walked away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His hands felt clammy as he walked, which was weird. Being a firebender, his skin was usually dry. Although not dry in that it was an issue; most firebenders didn’t sweat unless it was unreasonably hot. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He tried to shake away thoughts of Sokka as he gave the order to Iroh, but it was impossible to ignore that one of the Avatar’s peasant companions was in the shop. He could use him to capture the Avatar right then and there, but on the other hand, his uncle was also there, so that would be a problem. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shook his head, and ran his fingers through his hair. It had only started to grow back recently, but it was already quite long. It felt weird to have a full head of hair, but at least it helped disguise him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh broke him out of his trance by handing him a pot of tea, plus a porcelain cup. Zuko steeled himself and took in a deep breath, before quietly making his way back to </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sokka's </span>
  </em>
  <span>table. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sokka was deep in thought, thinking to himself, which was actually quite unusual. Usually he just told Katara or Aang about what he was thinking, but for the first time, they weren’t there with him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was really his fault that they weren’t there; he had needed a break from them and Toph, so he escaped down to the lower ring “to look for Appa”, which wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> a lie, but rather a creative truth. He was tired of Aang’s constant babbling about Appa, and Katara’s angsty pacing around the house. It didn’t help that Toph spent every waking minute speaking every thought that came to her mind, no matter how rude or unbecoming of her it was. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When he had come across the tea shop by the Monorail station, he took it as a sign that he needed to take a break, which honestly, it really wasn’t. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The store itself was quite small, and although dirty, it reminded him of the places he and the gang had stopped at on their journey, so he quickly warmed up to it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Outside the shop, an old lady in a uniform directed him to an empty table, so Sokka swung the door open, which made a little dinging sound. There was an old man visible in the kitchen, and a younger, albeit still old, man directing the singular server around the shop.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The server boy was quite tall, and had short, volcanic black hair. Sokka noted that his skin was unusually pale for Earth Kingdom citizens, but he didn’t pay it much attention. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The menu was kind of confusing, and there were at least several dozen different kinds of tea available, with dozens more possible customizations. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sokka almost didn’t realize it when the boy came up to him, but he noticed that he was walking awkwardly, as if he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>afraid</span>
  </em>
  <span> of him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka looked up, and was distracted by the boy’s eyes for a second, or rather eye, as half of his face was awkwardly angled away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His eyes, or at least, his right eye, was a warm golden color, and was framed by long eyelashes, and perfect eyebrows. Nothing like that scumbag Jet’s weird ass eyebrows. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka blinked, and then realized that he had been staring for a moment, before he was interrupted by the who introduced himself as Lee. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What can I get you today?’</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka looked down at the menu, still confused by it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Realizing that he, too, should probably introduce himself, he slowly said, “Um… my name’s Sokka.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka saw Lee’s eyes flicker for a second, almost in recognition. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ignoring whatever that was, he continued, “I don’t really know what to get. What do you recommend?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The other boy looked to grow panicked for a second, before stuttering, “I...like the Jasmine tea.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka noted that his voice sounded off, like he was purposefully making it deeper than it really was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka smiled at him, trying to ease whatever weird tension there was; “Alright I’ll have that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lee responded with a half-smile, and left the table as fast as he could. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Weird</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Sokka thought to himself.  </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>After several boring minutes of staring at the wall and fiddling with his boomerang, Sokka noticed Lee had appeared back at the table, awkwardly standing there, with his head again angled away from him again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why are you looking away?” Sokka asked, “I’m sure the rest of your face is just as pretty.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Shit. Why would he say that?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka didn’t miss the blush that appeared on Lee’s pale cheeks, but it had to be because Sokka was being weird. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lee blinked slowly, and Sokka was briefly distracted by his eyelashes. Just because he was jealous. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… here’s your tea,” he said, setting the pot and cup on the table, immediately dropping his order log on the floor. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lee reached down to get it, but Sokka, overcome by some weird desire to help him, interrupted, “I can get that for you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>FUCK, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Zuko thought. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The water tribe warrior-boy, or rather, Sokka, reached down for Zuko’s notepad, which he had foolishly dropped. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Horror grew in Zuko’s chest, but he had no time to react, before Sokka looked up at him, smiling, holding out the notepad. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Realization clicked in his eyes as he saw Zuko’s scar. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the fuck….” he said, quickly reaching for a pocket in his robes, presumably for a weapon. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck this and my stupid sweaty hands</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Zuko thought, beore grabbing Sokka’s wrist, and warming it as a threat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t do anything rash,” Zuko said, using the most even tone he could. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And what if I do?” Sokka spat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>drag my uncle into this. And I won’t go down without a fight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I assumed so,” Sokka said, before continuing to reach for whatever was in his pocket. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko slapped his wrist, realizing that they were making a scene; half the shop, plus Mr. Pao, was staring at them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just… meet me outside in a bit. I have a break in six minutes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why would I meet </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>outside.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Clearly</span>
  </em>
  <span> you want to </span>
  <em>
    <span>talk</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Plus, I don’t plan on murdering you, and I would be happy if you did the same.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sokka glared at him, slowly pulling away, and his hand brushed Zuko’s cheek. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Something felt weird in his face, and Zuko could feel himself blushing. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>FUCK</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka either hadn’t noticed, or didn’t care about Zuko’s complexion, and he went right back to his tea, acting like nothing had happened. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko groaned, and watched the clock from behind the counter, counting down the minutes until his peaceful little life at the tea shop would be shattered by some stupid pretty-boy (</span>
  <em>
    <span>why did he think of the word pretty?</span>
  </em>
  <span>) peasant from the South Pole. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Finally, after an agonizing collection of minutes where half the shop and the employees continued to stare at him, Zuko clocked out, and stepped out into the alley behind the shop.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Already having paid (to another server, whose shift had recently started), Sokka was waiting by the door. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So…” Zuko started, but Sokka was busy staring at something. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In confusion, Zuko realized that he was staring at his face, and fury coursed through him, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>What’re you fucking looking at</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What…” Sokka started, before apparent realization dawned on him, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It wasn’t the scar.. I like your eyes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko ignored the weird fluttering feeling in his stomach again; “You’ve already said that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh…..”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well? What are we going to talk about? What are your plans for me? Going to turn me in?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka rolled his eyes, “As much as I would like to, I don’t trust the Dai Li with anything. They couldn’t hold you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko laughed, “No Earth Kingdom prison could hold me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka rolled his beautiful blue eyes again. ( </span>
  <em>
    <span>Wait. Why describe them as beautiful</span>
  </em>
  <span>? )</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever. Now it’s my turn to ask-” Sokka started. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t answer all of my questions.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka completely ignored him, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>What I was going to say,</span>
  </em>
  <span> was why are you here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko cocked his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“In Ba Sing Se…. working at a tea shop... “ Sokka supplied, “I thought you were </span>
  <em>
    <span>above</span>
  </em>
  <span> peasant activities.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t really have much of a choice. Technically I’m banished.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now it was Sokka’s turn to be confused; “Why were you banished?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I lost an…. argument. My punishment was to be banished and only be able to return once I found the Avatar.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But when you left no one knew he was back?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko felt an uncomfortable feeling closing in around him, “Yes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who would send you on a journey like that? They obviously knew you would never return.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko paused, “You don’t need to know that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Actually, I kind of do. I was one of the people you were chasing, after all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko felt something inside him crack, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>You don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re not me.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka stepped back just a bit, “I didn’t mean it like that. Just.. whoever did that to you did something pretty horrible.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wasn’t the only horrible thing he did,” Zuko mumbled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka raised an eyebrow, but chose to ignore his little comment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, the last thing I can think to ask. We need a firebender to train Aang.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>The Avatar? You’re asking me to train him? How stupid are you?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka cracked a small smile, “Not you, dumbass. ‘Was just asking if you knew any… </span>
  <em>
    <span>trustworthy</span>
  </em>
  <span>… firebenders.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko crossed his arms, “Am I not trustworthy?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve tried to kill us multiple times. No.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko felt embarrassed; “Whatever. And no, I don’t know anyone. The only firebender I think you should ever consider letting near you is my Uncle, but there’s no way I’m going to let him get involved in this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka groaned, “Well, whatever. Thanks fire prince dude.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have you any idea how impolite that is?” Zuko asked, incredulously. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s why I said it,” the boy grinned. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko rolled his eyes, and walked back to the shop, clenching his fists at his side. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Why had he indulged the stupid warrior’s curiosity?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All of a sudden, he felt a hand on his arm. He flailed away, and raised his hand up in front of him, in a defensive stance. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Jeez, sorry,” Sokka said, “I was just going to ask you if… um,” he gulped, “We could do this again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean?” Zuko asked flatly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like.. I don’t know. Just.. if I come to the shop and want to ask questions, will you talk to me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Without thinking, and against his better judgement, Zuko blurted out, “Sure.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck. Why had he said that? What was wrong with him today. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sokka grinned, and for just a second, Zuko’s anger melted away, “Great. See you then.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.. great…” Zuko mumbled, as Sokka made his way out of the alley. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What the fuck had he gotten himself into?</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Hiding</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Zuko hides Sokka from some Dai Li agents, although the choice isn't entirely up to him.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>ahhh so this chapter is really short, sorry about that, but i've been super busy this week. <br/>It snowed today and since it was the first time in years that i've actually gotten a lot of snow i was outside for a while BUT i did manage to finish this bc i will not let myself break the schedule that I created for myself :)</p><p>So even though I did switch povs last chapter I think I’m going to try and keep it consistently Zuko, although there will be occasional switches to Sokka, and eventually Azula and Katara as the story goes on</p><p>Anyways, enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>TW: Internalized Homophobia</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It had been nearly two weeks since his little rendezvous with Sokka, and Zuko still hadn’t heard from him. Nearly every time someone entered the shop, he involuntarily jumped, thinking that it would be the warrior boy, but his suspicions were consistently proved wrong; there was a little twinge of disappointment in his chest that he tried to ignore, but it was near-impossible. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At least his attentiveness had somehow increased his productivity, and Pao hadn’t berated him once since that day with Sokka. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In fact, he had overheard Mr. Pao and his wife talking about making Iroh the head tea-maker, because of how good his brewing skills were. Zuko couldn’t disagree, the tea that he had had when he and Iroh weren’t working there was absolutely horrible; it tasted like dirt water with a hint of grass. Even if he didn’t usually like tea, he had to admit that Iroh’s tea was probably one of the best drinks he could ever have. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In spite of himself, his mind wandered back to Sokka, as he heated up a walnut cookie for this absolutely insufferable woman and her little spoiled brat, who was busy whining about not getting two cookies, instead of the one that his mother had gotten for him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The kid was messing with the door, jingling the bell, and Zuko was </span>
  <em>
    <span>this </span>
  </em>
  <span>close to absolutely losing it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All of a sudden, the door banged open, and Zuko whirled around, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m going to have to ask you to leave if</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he started, before being shocked at the sight of who had come into the shop. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka had ran inside, and slammed the door closed, and was now peering out one of the windows at the street. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the hell?” Zuko asked, disbelievingly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Act like you’re talking to me,” the boy said, walking up to him, and pointedly facing away from the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko blushed for some odd reason, “What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Dai Li are after me and…” he paused, “someone. Hopefully they won’t notice me here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko raised an eyebrow, but Sokka’s claims were cemented when several Dai Li agents ran past the window, shouting something about “The one with the boomerang was here. Check all the shops.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit,” Sokka muttered breathlessly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you plan on doing now?” Zuko asked, still mildly alarmed by the other boy’s abrupt appearance. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um….. do you have somewhere you can hide me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why would I help you,” Zuko responded flatly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>can </span>
  </em>
  <span>rat you out as a firebender.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I doubt you have much credibility with them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka ignored his comment, continuing, “Plus you just love me too much, don’t you, pretty boy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko furrowed his brow, trying in vain to ignore the butterflies in his stomach, “I’m on break right now, so I can.. um.. take you back to my apartment. Mine and Iroh’s apartment,” he stuttered, “I had to get something anyways. I mean, if you’re okay with it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka grinned, “As long as it gets me away from them,” he said, motioning towards the door. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko nodded curtly, and took off his apron, hanging it on the hook behind the counter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s go out the back,” he said, and Sokka followed along. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As they passed through the kitchen, Zuko tried to be as quiet as possible, but somehow Iroh noticed him; “Ah, Zuko, you brought a friend,” the old man smiled, before adding, “If you’re going back home make sure to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>responsible</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko blankly nodded, and Sokka gave a small wave as the two stepped out of the store. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So… what does he mean by </span>
  <em>
    <span>responsible</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Sokka asked, placing special emphasis on the world, just like Iroh had done. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In response, Zuko just flashed a tiny flame from his fingertips. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh. Right.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Trying to lighten the mood, Sokka spoke up, “I thought he meant </span>
  <em>
    <span>responsible </span>
  </em>
  <span>for other things.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like what?” Zuko asked, confused. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Having boys over or something.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko’s blood ran cold, and his step faltered, “What do you mean, </span>
  <em>
    <span>boys</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka looked at him, curiously, “I didn’t mean it like that. Not that that’s weird though. If you want someone over in </span>
  <em>
    <span>that way</span>
  </em>
  <span>, it’s perfectly normal for them to be a boy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko’s breath hitched, “That’s not allowed. It’s wrong.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Says who?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s just.. that’s just how it is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko glared at the other boy, “Stop asking me. That’s just how it is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not here it isn’t. And not in the Water Tribe it isn’t,” Sokka retorted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look over there,” he said, pointing at two women, who were busy making out on the bench by a fountain, and then to two men, who were sitting together at a romantic restaurant, “it’s perfectly normal.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko felt a compressing feeling in his heart, “Let’s just.. get up to the apartment.”</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>As soon as they entered, Sokka plopped down on the couch, and seeing the numerous belongings scattered about the room, he said something about, “Settling in rather quickly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko tried to repress his annoyance, “This isn't home. It’s Iroh getting used to it, not me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you say so.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Remind me again why I’m helping you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You love me too much,” Sokka said, with a shit-eating grin plastered on his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Again ignoring the weird feeling in his stomach, Zuko responded, “We’ve literally never spoken one-on-one before, this makes no sense.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One-on-one, Zuko,” Sokka said, in mock shock, “I didn’t know you were into </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> kind of stuff.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connecting the dots, Zuko replied in anger, “Stop trying to make everything weird and wrong like that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Again, it’s not wrong, it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>perfectly normal</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve said that multiple times now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It doesn’t make it any less true.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Agni, you’re annoying. Get out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka rolled his eyes, and piped up in a light, raspy voice, “I must capture the Avatar and regain my honor, because I’m a firebender!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Are you pretending to be me? And was that a blackmail threat?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, and?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You ass</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Zuko near-shouted, throwing a pillow from the chaise at Sokka. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, hey, stop. I’m not allowed to be so friendly with the crown prince of evil fire-people.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko felt a twinge of sadness in his chest, and responded in a much colder tone, “I’m not the crown prince. My sister’s the crown princess.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Sokka looked at him, confused, “But I thought you were the oldest? And since when have you had a sister?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am the oldest. And you don’t want to meet her, she’s worse than me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His smile drooped a little bit, and ignoring the first part, Sokka said, “How can she be worse than you? That’s a pretty difficult thing to beat.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko groaned, and buried his face into a pillow, “Can you leave yet?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka turned around, looking out the window behind the couch. The street was empty, and there was no sign of the Dai Li agents.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Goodbye!” Zuko responded, although it didn’t come off as sarcastically as he wanted it to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See you soon,” Sokka grinned. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko started back blankly at him, and Sokka started to walk towards him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A note of panic in his voice, Zuko asked, “What’re you doing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Giving you a hug, duh.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before he could even react, Sokka’s arms were wrapped around him, and kind of just stood there awkwardly for several moments, resisting the desire to melt into the other boy’s strong frame, (</span>
  <em>
    <span>Why did he want to do that?</span>
  </em>
  <span>)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka pulled away, and looked at him in confusion, “Have you ever been hugged before?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko paused momentarily, “A long time ago. By.. someone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The other boy looked at him in concern, before lightheartedly saying, “Well, I hope we talk again soon. You’re not </span>
  <em>
    <span>as</span>
  </em>
  <span> bad as I thought you would be.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko rolled his eyes, and not even a moment later, Sokka had disappeared from the apartment, leaving the other boy to his own thoughts. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Well, that was weird</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he thought, as he prepared to go back to the shop, completely having forgotten what he had come there for in the first place. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thanks for reading, comments are always welcome &lt;3</p><p>don't forget to drink water today!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Sparkrocks and Dual Broadswords</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Zuko and Sokka meet up with a member of team avatar (also run into someone from Zuko and Sokka's past)</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>umm so im back yeah,,, i have a plan for the chapter that'll come after the next one but not the next one soo that might take a bit to figure out<br/>anyways if it isnt obvious im really tired right now and i hate hate hate jet,,,, anyyywayyys enjoy &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It was early on a Tuesday morning the next time Zuko ran into Sokka. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had been wandering the middle ring, scouring the shops for spark-rocks, because his and Iroh’s had mysteriously disappeared the other day, which, of course, Zuko immediately supposed to be foul play. Iroh simply dismissed his claims, instead electing to borrow the neighbor’s spark-rocks, even though Zuko was fairly sure that someone was trying to tempt them into fire-bending.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Without even searching for his original fire-rocks, Iroh had given Zuko the money to buy some new ones, saying “I think it would be nice if you were able to go outside”, which Zuko interpreted as, “I hate you and I do not want you in my presence today.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Anyways, Zuko took the monorail up to the middle ring; to one of the markets that was closest to the tea shop. He felt eyes watching him the entire time, but no matter how hard he looked, he didn’t spot anyone familiar or suspicious. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When the train pulled into the station, Zuko even waited in the shadows by the exit, hoping to catch whoever it was that was watching him, but his efforts were in vain. After searching the station platform, he walked out into the cobbled street, and past a collection of significantly nicer houses. Cherry trees adorned the wide streets in this section of the city, and the houses were engraved with artwork and roofed with clay shingles, unlike the drab, wooden-shingled houses of the lower ring. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The market was set up in what was clearly usually a garden, with a latticed arbor stretching around the perimeter, covered in pink and purple flowering vines. There was a small pond in the center, and the cloth-roofed stands fanned out from it, some of which had grocery products and meals, and some of which had more unique things like porcelain wares and exotic pets. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had been sorting through one of the miscellaneous trays set out in front of one of the smaller, household-appliance stands, when he heard a familiar voice; “Hey, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Lee</span>
  </em>
  <span>”. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko discreetly looked around, and to his horror, spotted Sokka standing with another one of the Avatar’s companions, right behind him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’re you doing here?” Sokka asked, a stupid grin on his face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you insane? People can’t know who I am,” Zuko said, and then looked pointedly at his companion; “I thought I made that </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> clear.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can’t see. Blind,” the little girl that was standing next to Sokka stated, in an oddly matter-of-fact type tone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko ignored her, and only glared at Sokka in response. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is Toph,” Sokka started, gesturing to the younger girl, only to be interrupted by her, “So this is the hot fire prince guy you were talking about….”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka stammered nervously, while Zuko blushed, and looked away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t - I didn’t say that,” Sokka said, in a wobbly voice. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Suuuuure you didn’t,” Toph rolled her eyes, “Because I distinctly remember-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was cut off by Sokka’s hand over her mouth, “Well, that’s enough of that. Anyways, we weren’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> looking for you, but it's a good thing that we ran into you. We’re really starting to need a firebender teacher for Aang, ASAP.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko looked at him, confused, “Doesn’t he need to learn earthbending next? If I’m right about the cycle?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph rolled her eyes, which Zuko suddenly realized were cloudy and glazed over, “I’m his earth bending teacher. Duh.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko again looked at Sokka, who just sighed in exasperation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can see you looking at him,” Toph said, and then, somehow noticing his look of surprise, continued “I can see with my feet. Vibrations in the earth and stuff let me see stuff around me in my brain.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko just nodded slowly, and looked at Sokka in disbelief. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can see that too, fireboy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko only sputtered in response, and Sokka interjected to ask, “But really, why are you here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I need spark rocks. For my Uncle,” he muttered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph laughed unusually loud, “Ooh, that’s rich. A </span>
  <em>
    <span>firebender</span>
  </em>
  <span> needing spark rocks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko only responded through gritted teeth, “I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>a firebender, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka cuffed her on the back of her head, so she blew a raspberry at him, and continued making fun of Zuko, “I think I’ve found the perfect nickname for you; </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sparky</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” she laughed, and then flashed exaggerated jazz hands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do you deal with her,” Zuko asked, still appalled by the girl’s behavior. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not deaf you know,” Toph said, before flicking Zuko in the arm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He glanced at her in disgust, before spotting a little bag of spark rocks, and taking them over to the vendor. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After he had paid, and started to make his way back to the monorail station, Toph and Sokka continued to tag along, Sokka trying to coax him into conversation, and Toph making jokes at both of their expenses. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When they finally arrived at the station, and Toph made her second ‘joke’ about him being a firebender, Zuko spun around and snapped at them, “What do you intend to achieve by following me? You,” he said, pointing to Sokka, “Already know where I live. And you,” he pointed at Toph, “Can probably figure out all of my emotions or something with your… feet powers. What else do you need to know?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka rolled his eyes, “Spirits, I was just trying to be nice.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Toph snorted, and after giving her a deadly glare, Zuko flatly asked, “Why.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why not?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve literally tried to kill you. Multiple times. Not to mention all the people I’ve hurt.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It doesn’t mean you’re the same person. People change.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko opened his mouth to speak, and then felt the same weird feeling as earlier that day. Like he was being watched. He stopped for just a second, and after Sokka and Toph looked at him curiously, he said, “Just come to the shop. I can get you some tea, and we can talk outside.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka raised an eyebrow, but seemingly blowing it off, boarded the train with Zuko and Toph. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As the monorail made its way along the tracks, Zuko looked out at the city, really noticing for the first time just how different it was from his home. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even though it wasn’t as wide as Caldera City, the middle ring was certainly still quite large; it probably had at least one or two million residents. Because it was heavily interspersed with gardens and ponds, and because the houses were larger and more spread apart, it was far less densely populated than the lower ring, which was definitely the largest expanse of city Zuko had ever seen in his life. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Monorail sped across a viaduct, over a small residential cluster, and then through the elaborate keyhole-shaped partition in the ring-wall. As soon as they passed through, it seemed that even the sky was greyer, and the air felt more cold and damp. Grey and Green-roofed houses stretched out towards the horizon as far as the eye could see, with the endless sprawl occasionally interrupted by more elevated monorail tracks and stops, and several large temples. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The train jerked to a stop in the station, and as soon as they disembarked, Zuko looked around, and although he didn’t see anyone following him, he still felt that odd feeling. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had no idea why he had even agreed to stay with Toph and Sokka, but it was better than the alternative of being captured and subjected to who knows what by the Dai Li.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The small plaza around the station was just as crowded as usual, so Zuko tried to use it to his advantage, leading Toph and Sokka on a random path through the throngs of civilians. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are we doing?” Sokka asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just follow me.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When they finally made it to the tiny side street that led to the tea shop, after having passed it at least twice, Zuko grabbed the two of them by the wrists, and yanked them back off the square. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dude, your hands are </span>
  <em>
    <span>hot</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Sokka exclaimed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko looked at him in confusion for a second, and then looked down at his hands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean temperature,” Sokka clarified quickly, “They felt really warm on my wrists.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Captain Boomerang, I’m pretty sure he knew,” Toph said flatly, leaving Sokka a blushing mess, and Zuko kind of just standing there awkwardly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Completely not caring about the situation she just caused, Toph started to say “So, Sparky,”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop calling me that,” Zuko interrupted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She rolled her eyes, “Anyways. Care to explain why you dragged us through that? Because I want some food </span>
  <em>
    <span>now</span>
  </em>
  <span> and I don’t have the time for meaningless detours.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Briefly appalled by her little tirade, Zuko paused, and then said quietly, “I think someone’s following me. Just trying to be careful.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka’s expression hardened, “Who?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know. I haven’t seen them yet. Let’s just get to the shop, I have to clock in in a couple minutes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The other two nodded, and followed Zuko down the street to the little tea shop, sitting at a table near the back of the store, while Zuko breezed past to put on his apron and begin serving customers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Toph ended up ordering multiple pastries, while all Sokka got was a jasmine tea. Zuko felt a little warm feeling in his heart when Sokka asked for it, but decided that it was just because it was a friendly gesture. Not like it could be anything more, anyways, even though that had been Zuko’s recommendation the first time they had met at the shop. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Right when he was in the middle of bringing Sokka’s tea to the table, a familiar face burst into the café.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jet?” he and Sokka asked at the same time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Jet hissed, completely ignoring Sokka and Toph. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is it?” Zuko asked, starting to get nervous. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know you and your uncle are filthy </span>
  <em>
    <span>firebenders</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Give yourself up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko’s blood ran cold, but somehow, he managed to keep his cool, “What the fuck are you talking about?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jet’s already unusual face contorted with rage, “Don’t fucking bullshit me. I saw your uncle heating his tea.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>FUCK</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Zuko thought. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A random customer spoke up, “You….. saw an old man heat tea….. why is that proof that they’re firebenders?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you know how stupid that sounds?” another one said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lee’s not a firebender,” Sokka said sharply. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jet turned and glared at him, “Shut up, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sokka</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just leave. If you’re going to spout bogus claims like this, go do it somewhere else,” Zuko managed to say with an oddly even tone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>It’s not bogus</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Jet shouted, his eyebrows becoming jagged. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just leave,” Sokka said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I said, </span>
  <em>
    <span>shut up</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Jet spat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All of a sudden, Jet whipped a sword out from behind his back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>What do you think you’re doing</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Pao exclaimed, just now emerging from behind the counter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jet sported an evil grin, “The firebender here is going to defend himself with his bending. Won’t he?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Growing even more panicked, Zuko spotted a pair of dual broadswords poking out of a customer’s bag, and immediately snatched them up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You ass</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Jet roared, lunging towards him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko threw himself backwards, tossing a chair at Jet, hitting the other boy right in the face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blood immediately sprang forth from his nose, and he jumped towards Zuko, brandishing his sword. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko blocked him, and subsequently pushed him backwards, while customers rushed towards the exit, and Sokka and Toph ducked behind the counter, where Iroh had also appeared. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jet stumbled, and then ran at him again, yelling. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the fuck is wrong with you,” Zuko snapped. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jet only grinned in response, wildly swinging his sword at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nephew, you must stop, it’s not worth it,” Iroh said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Uncle, not right now</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” was all Zuko managed to say in response without absolutely losing it. Right now was really </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> a good teaching moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bet you wish he’d help you out with a little fire blast,” Jet taunted, faltering for just a second. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko took the opportunity to hit Jet’s sword out of his hands, through the door and into the street, although he did lose one of his own broadswords with it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jet yelled in frustration, and ran at him, ready to punch him right in the face. Dodging out of the way, Zuko aimed a well-timed kick right at his midsection, and Jet immediately fell to the ground. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re the one that needs help,” Zuko spat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Struggling to get up, Jet near-yelled “The Fire Nation is silencing you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pao and the other customers looked on in utter disbelief and horror, right as several Dai Li agents burst into the shop. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka yelped, and ducked behind the counter, but their attention was very clearly only focused on Zuko and Jet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s going on here,” one of them asked, glaring at the two boys in the middle of the store, “Drop your weapons.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko immediately dropped the lone sword he still had, looking at the agents in worry. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jet, instead, immediately started yelling, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>These two are firebenders, this boy and his old uncle! Arrest them right now</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This boy is simply confused. We’re refugees,” Iroh spoke up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>NO THEY'RE NOT</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Jet shouted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mr. Pao glared at him, before throwing his hands up, “This crazy ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>freedom fighter</span>
  </em>
  <span>’ just assaulted one of my employees and scared off my customers! </span>
  <em>
    <span>He’s </span>
  </em>
  <span>the one that needs to be arrested.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>They’re firebenders</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Jet shouted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re insane,” Zuko retorted, and Pao nodded, while the customer whose swords Zuko had taken cemented their claims, “That crazy boy came in here and pulled a sword on the server. Luckily, he managed to get my broadswords and fight him off.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His face further distorting in rage, Jet yelled and ran at the Dai Li agents, picking up the singular broadsword.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The agents smashed Jet in the face with a well-timed block of stone, instantly knocking him out, as the bystanders gasped in shock. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A half-hour later, the shop was finally cleaned up, and Zuko met Toph and Sokka outside, as customers started to stream back in. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pao had generously given him the rest of the day off, and Zuko planned on going immediately home and sleeping for the rest of the day. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well that was fun,” Toph said flatly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>So</span>
  </em>
  <span> fun,” Zuko responded sarcastically, “I always knew there was something off about him but I can’t believe he was following me the entire day. Weird as fuck.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you think what happened today is bad, you won’t believe what happened a couple months ago. We ran into him in this forest by the fire nation colonies, where he was trying to blow up a dam and destroy one of the colony towns.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>WHAT</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Zuko shouted, eyes flashing with rage. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Don’t worry, he didn’t get away with it,” Sokka said quickly, eyeing Zuko strangely. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zuko sighed, and leaned against the wall, slowly sliding down, “That was too close of a call. I really can’t be talking about this. To anyone. It’s not smart of me to make friends like you guys. No offense though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“None taken,” Toph laughed, before adding, “But we did kind of help you. We backed you up, and Jet recognizing Sokka probably saved you a good couple seconds.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess so,” Zuko said, glumly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Trying to lift the mood, Sokka said, “The way you used the swords was really cool. You must be one of the only people that can really use dual broadswords, aside from the blue spirit, of course. That guy’s so cool.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Or girl,” Toph interjected. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think he’s...cool?” Zuko asked, slowly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well duh. I really want to meet him, he’s one of the coolest people ever these days.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph groaned, “Can you </span>
  <em>
    <span>please</span>
  </em>
  <span> do your whole fanboy thing somewhere else? I have places to be. Namely, my bed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Actually, me too,” Zuko said, “I need to rest for a bit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah, totally,” Sokka nodded, clapping him on the shoulder. Zuko felt a feeling of warmth spread out from that spot, and gave a small grin, blushing lightly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow dude, your body really is hot,” Sokka exclaimed, before quickly adding, “Like the temperature, I mean.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko’s heartbeat increased slightly, before checking for people nearby, and nonchalantly saying, “Firebenders run hot. But it’s nice if you think my body’s hot in </span>
  <em>
    <span>another </span>
  </em>
  <span>way too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>FUCK</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Why would he say that?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko internally cringed, and Sokka just opened and closed his mouth, blushing furiously. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taking advantage of the pause, Zuko said quickly, “Well, I had best be getting back to my apartment. I’ll probably run into you guys sooner or later.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can always come down to the tea shop if I need you, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure,” Zuko smiled in spite of himself, and then gave a small wave as the two walked off, Toph and Sokka smiling at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <span>As he made his way back to the apartment, he thought to himself, ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>It really is nice to have friends</span>
  </em>
  <span>.’</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>okay so was it good i feel like i didnt fully edit it;;; oh well<br/>anyways thank you so much for reading dont forget to drink water today :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Fountains and Paper Lanterns</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Zuko digs himself into a deeper hole, but ends up realizing something as a result.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>AAAAHHHHH IM SO SORRY I DIDNT UPDATE LAST WEEK I WAS SUPER BUSY. But. I swear I'll try to update a second time this weekend. Maybe. Anyways this chapter is really short lol but it's necessary for plot building :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It had only been a couple days since he had ran into Sokka and Toph when his life decided to change itself, yet again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jin, a girl he had (kind of) known from the beginning, who was also a frequent customer of the tea shop, asked him on a date one day. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It took Zuko by surprise, and at first he choked in response, before passively agreeing and setting up a time and place. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn’t feel right though, and he didn’t like her. At least, he liked her in a </span>
  <em>
    <span>platonic</span>
  </em>
  <span> way, he thought, but he honestly had no idea what his feelings towards her were; he could never decipher what he was actually thinking. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he told Iroh, the man chided him, saying that if Zuko didn’t like her, he shouldn’t have agreed; he could break her heart. Zuko definitely agreed, but it was too late for that. He decided that he would make the best of it, and go on the date, but make sure that there was never another one. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The occasion came all too soon, that Friday. Zuko met Jin outside the shop just after sundown, but not before Iroh had stuffed him into a hideous outfit and one of the strangest hairstyles Zuko had ever seen. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was definitely pretty, but he didn’t feel anything special about it; there wasn’t the whole feeling of a crush, or even love, that was described by everyone. But then again, this was only their first date, so he didn’t have to feel anything. Did he? Fuck, this was confusing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>All of a sudden, he was snapped out of his trance by Jin, waving in his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lee?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko blinked, “Huh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was asking where you wanted to eat,” she said, looking at him, perplexed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um,” Zuko started, at a loss for words, “Well…. where do you want to go?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She groaned, “That’s what I asked you. I guess we can go to that noodle place by the West Temple.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko gave a half smile, and gestured towards the direction of the nearest monorail station.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jin rolled her eyes, good naturedly, and took his arm in hers, “Well, come on, silly, let’s go. And listen to me better next time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko grimaced, and right before she turned back to look at him, he forced his face into a grin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dinner was nice, but the whole event grew increasingly uncomfortable for Zuko as time went by. He wished Sokka was there. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jin had arranged for them to have their own table by a window that looked out onto the temple grounds, and she kept trying to take his hand in hers, or put her hand on his lap. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>By the time they were finished with their food, and Zuko had paid, he was nearly at his breaking point. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Jin, um, I need to be back kind of soon. My Uncle.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her smile faltered, “Oh, of course, of course.” She paused, “Can we stop by the fountain by the tea shop on the way back though?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko forced yet another happy face, “Yeah, sure.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He tried to distract himself by looking at the city, which, surprisingly, was actually starting to help take his attention away from his situation. The lights at night were beautiful, with orange torches illuminating the cobbled streets and jumbled buildings, which were thronged with dozens of vendors and customers out to enjoy the evening. The tiered towers of the West Temple poked out of the sky in the distance, the largest of which was lit up with blue lights, to commemorate the current holiday. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lee, we’re at the station,” Jin said happily, jerking him back to enduring the endless horror that was their date. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He smiled again, and led her up the stairs. Luckily, a train arrived right as they entered the station, so there was no need for smalltalk. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The ride was just as rough as usual, with the vehicle jolting to a start, and making its familiar, horrible grinding noise.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, what’s your story?” Jin asked, “I’ve never really gotten a full answer. Plus, I meant to ask you earlier, but I forgot.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>Well I guess there is smalltalk</span>
  </em>
  <span>,’ he thought angrily, before growing slightly panicked, “Well.. my uncle and I are refugees.” He struggled to remember the story he and Iroh had fabritacted. “We.. um.. Our village.. In the south of the Earth Kingdom. It was attacked by the fire nation. So we left… and um, ended up here, I guess.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Same story as everyone, I suppose,” Jin said, wistfully, “My village was on an island in the tropics. Near where the Fire Nation colonies are now. It was one of the first places to go, actually,” she stared off, focusing on something Zuko couldn’t see, “It was beautiful. Blue-roofed buildings scattered across terraced islands. Lots of flowering trees too; in the spring everything would be pink and blue. And the beaches. I miss them a lot. It was volcanic sand, so it was black, and they ringed most of the islands, save for some cliffs. I used to go swimming there after school every day,” she blinked, and shook her head. “Sorry for interrupting. What were you saying?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I.. um.. nothing, really.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She cocked her head, “Do you have any other family? Other than your Uncle, I mean.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko tensed, “Um,” he started, before she cut him off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about a sister? I always wanted a sister.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko dug his nails into his palms, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>I don’t have a sister</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he whispered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked at him curiously, but right then, the train came to a stop at their station. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Alright then, let’s go. The fountain should be active right now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko simply nodded in response, mentally thanking Agni that he wouldn’t have to deal with any more interrogations on behalf of Jin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When they finally arrived at the aforementioned fountain, he did have to admit that it was quite beautiful. Paper lanterns ringed the small square, illuminated the area with golden light, and water burbled into the center of the pool, with flowering lilies floating in the outer part of it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So,” Jin started, smiling, “This was fun.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Zuko said. In reality, nerve-wracking was more like it. Or rather, absolutely terrifying. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All of a sudden, he realized Jin was leaning in, eyes closed. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He leaned back out of surprise, before realizing he should lean towards her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yet, when his lips met hers, nothing. Absolutely nothing. No special feeling, no feeling of fireworks. Just the nasty feeling of someone else’s saliva mixing with his own; “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Gross and underwhelming”</span>
  </em>
  <span> were his only thoughts. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oddly, he heard a muffled gasp to his left, so Zuko broke away from Jin, who looked up at him, annoyed and confused. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>To his horor, Sokka was standing on the other side of the square, looking crestfallen. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Why did he feel guilty all of a sudden?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sokka?” Zuko started, but it was too late, the other boy turned on his heel and dashed out of the square. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck,” Zuko exclaimed, but he immediately stopped when he saw Jin’s expression; her eyes had widened in realization, and her mouth hung open. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” He asked, sharply. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It makes so much sense now..”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>What does?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well… I mean..”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>What</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She raised an eyebrow at his sudden outburst, and continued, “Why you were being so odd tonight. And why it seemed like you were always looking for someone else.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Odd? Someone else?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not stupid, Lee. You obviously have a crush on that boy.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>He could feel his cheeks growing red, “What? No I don’t. He’s a boy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jin sighed, “Firstly, I feel like you’ve already been told this, but it’s totally okay to have a crush on someone that’s not a girl. And second, even if you haven’t realized it yet, there’s most definitely something between you two.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>No there’s not</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really? Then why was he upset? Why did you feel bad? And </span>
  <em>
    <span>who</span>
  </em>
  <span> were you hoping was there instead of me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He paused for a moment, “Even if I did want him to be there, what does that mean?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She shrugged, “I don’t know, you tell me. All I know is that there’s definitely some dynamic between you two that’s not platonic. I mean, try to think about how you </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> feel about him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko closed his eyes, and tried to focus on Sokka. He felt himself getting embarrassed for some reason, and his cheeks flushed, yet again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I feel.. awkward when I think about him. And… just weird, in general.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s usually how someone feels when they have a crush,” she said, flatly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Feeling angry again, he snapped, “Well, what am I supposed to do if I do?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have a crush?” she supplied. “Obviously, go and tell him how you feel. It’s easier to get it over with, rather than deal with for any longer than you already have.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I have not been dealing with it for a while</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She simply gave him a pointed look in response, and Zuko felt the urge to crawl into a hole and disappear, “How would I even do that?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“I told you… go to him and tell him.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“What if he doesn’t feel the same way?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She laughed, to Zuko’s shock.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Why are you laughing</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely</span>
  </em>
  <span> has a crush on you. Believe me, it’s obvious.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko felt a nervous pit in his chest, “Okay, then.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“So?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So what?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you going to tell him?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sighed, “Seriously. Tell him as soon as you can. It’ll be better that way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you think so. Anyways, I have to get back home now.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>She smirked, “See you soon. Tonight was nice, in spite of… the </span>
  <em>
    <span>realizations</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He blushed again, “Yeah….”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Well, bye. And get on telling him soon. He’s really cute, isn’t he.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I mean, speaking from… um… another point of view.. of course he is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She repressed a laugh, “So you think he’s hot?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko only sputtered in response, as Jin waved, and turned down a side street towards her house. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>FUCK</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he thought. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>woooo i hope it wasn't that bad,,, comments are always welcome :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Culmination</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Every event comes to a head, and Sokka and Zuko finally confront their feelings together (featuring Azula)</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>so. im back lol. this chapter is um.. interesting....</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>A lot could change in a couple days, as Zuko had grown to find out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not only had he not seen Sokka since the disastrous night with Jin, he had likely lost all chances of seeing him again, as he and Iroh had relocated to a new job in the Upper Ring. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>One of their more wealthy patrons, Quon, had offered Iroh a new shop to work at; one that he would have self-ownership of. Iroh, of course, had accepted immediately, much to Pao’s dismay. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t that the new job was bad, Zuko actually liked it way better than his other job, but it made him feel empty inside. He had lost all possibility of seeing his friends (were they </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>his friends?) again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The only sign he had seen of the Avatar’s squad was a missing poster for their flying bison, but how the </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span> could Zuko just show up, </span>
  <em>
    <span>to the avatar’s house</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and say he wanted to help, without being immediately destroyed by his little posse, with the, at this point, </span>
  <em>
    <span>possible,</span>
  </em>
  <span> exception of Sokka and </span>
  <em>
    <span>mayyybbeee </span>
  </em>
  <span>Toph. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In other news, Zuko was 99% sure that Iroh knew he was the blue spirit, and that he knew that Zuko knew that he knew. He had grown reckless with his frequent outings late into the night, and he had come back early one morning, just barely able to conceal his mask behind his back when Iroh confronted him upon his return. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Because of all of these horrible things that were happening, every day, day in and out, was spent in the new tea shop, tirelessly cleaning the fancy tea-making tools and ornate furniture, and catering to posh and snobby customers who were arguably worse than those who would’ve tried to steal tea mugs in the lower ring. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It must’ve only been a little bit less than a week after he had found the poster when Zuko finally reached his breaking point; searching up the Avatar’s house’ address in a mapbook. On a whim, he grabbed his dual broadswords, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>just in case</span>
  </em>
  <span> he spent longer than he meant to, he left his uncle a note on their new kitchen counter, in the spacious apartment above the tea shop. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As it turned out, he didn’t live that far from where Sokka and his friends were staying; it was only two stops on one of the nearby monorail lines. When he stepped off the train and into the quaint street, lined with walled yards and bamboo groves, the thought came to him that this was probably a bad idea. But at this point, it was too late to turn back; he would look like an idiot if he left that whole dramatic note for iroh, only to return fifteen minutes later. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Avatar’s residence was down a network of small streets, ending in a more clear area of the ring, close to the upper wall. The house itself was far less grand than Zuko had thought it would be; he had assumed they would’ve been given the best the Earth Kingdom had to offer. But, then again, it wasn’t like the Dai Li liked Aang, or any of the Avatar Squad, for that matter. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zuko started to feel even more anxious, and he could practically hear his heartbeat thrumming in his head as he stepped up to the gate. To his surprise, when he knocked, it simply swung open, with little to no resistance. The yard was empty, and no sound emerged from the house as he quietly crept along the path that cut through the manicured gardens. It was odd to walk through a yard that didn’t belong to him, and actually kind of scary when he thought about what Katara would do if she found him there. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All of a sudden, he heard a weird sound in the distance, and whipping around, he spotted the Avatar’s flying bison slowly moving towards him. Blood running cold, he stayed rooted to the spot, watching in horror as it moved overhead of him, and slowly touched down, two people leaping off it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Stumbling backwards, his fears were, at first, quelled when he recognized Sokka and Toph, before immediately rushing back, albeit for different reasons. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sokka… hi…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… hi Zuko.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Silence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh my god. We don’t have </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span> the time in the world,” Toph snapped. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s going on?” Zuko asked, desperate to change the conversation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need to find Katara. Aang is on his way back, and we have some important stuff to tell the Earth King,” Toph explained, flatly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We think… we think your sister and her friends infiltrated the city. Katara said she needed to warn the Earth King about something else, but we figured out the other stuff a bit later,” Sokka said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, my sister?” Zuko asked, feeling his chest grow tight and breath grow fast. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Not here. Not now. Not Azula. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re not really sure,” Sokka said, halfheartedly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I need to tell my Uncle. Now.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Come on fireboy, let’s go then. I already said we don’t have all day”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Don’t call me that,” Zuko said, struggling to maintain a civil tone, “There’s something I need to tell Sokka first.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ooh, goody. You’re finally going to admit your feelings for each other,” she laughed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko and Sokka simultaneously blushed, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>No</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Zuko said, a bit too forcefully, before repeating himself more nicely after he saw Sokka’s hurt reaction. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just wanted to say that.. what you saw wasn’t romantic. I’m not interested in her. Please don’t think that I am,” Zuko blurted out, quickly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka blinked, before nodding, “Oh, okay. Um, thanks for telling me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Did he just not care?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.. you’re welcome.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Chop, chop</span>
  </em>
  <span>, let’s go,” Toph exclaimed, “As much as I love watching you two struggle with your feelings, we need to </span>
  <em>
    <span>go</span>
  </em>
  <span>, now. Where’s your uncle?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko provided them with the address, and before he knew it, Sokka was dragging him onto the hairy monster, apparently named </span>
  <em>
    <span>Appa.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ew ew ew, I don’t want to touch it. It smells so bad,” Zuko complained. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Shut it, prince boy,” Toph said, somewhat forcefully. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before he knew it, they were lifting off, and Zuko clung as tightly as he could to the saddle he was sitting in. He tried so hard not to look down, but it was nearly impossible, and even though they were thirty feet off the ground, at most, it still terrified him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When they landed outside of the shop, and Zuko rushed in, he found it empty. The sign on the outside read “Closed,” even though Iroh had said it would be open all day. Zuko searched the entire store, yet found nothing. When he started in the apartment, the first thing he saw was a note next to the one he had left:</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Nephew,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I’ve been invited to serve tea to the Earth King. Isn’t that wonderful! I would ask for you to come and help me, but seeing as you’re busy with your ‘duties’, I won’t bother. I shouldn’t be long, but if you come back before me, I am at the palace.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><ul>
<li><em><span>Iroh”</span></em></li>
</ul><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>FUCK</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Zuko yelled, sprinting down the steps and out to Toph and Sokka. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Find anything?” Toph asked, nonchalantly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>He’s at the palace</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Shit,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Sokka exclaimed, immediately hopping back onto Appa, “We’ve got to go. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Now</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The bison soared through the sky at speeds Zuko had never felt before, and when the furry creature dove down towards the palace, Zuko  felt as if he might just throw up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He and Toph immediately dispatched the guards at one of the side entrances, and even with the help of Sokka, they were starting to be pushed back against the wall after just five minutes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can’t keep this up,” Sokka said, in between throws, to which Toph responded by launching a massive projectile at the steps, instantly taking out six guards in one throw. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Impressed, Zuko congratulated her, “Nice moves.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, Sparky,” she smirked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nevermind,” Zuko rolled his eyes, only to be interrupted by a spike of stone just barely missing his head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They continued to be pushed back, and at this point, any escape on Appa was impossible. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Shit</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All of a sudden, to Zuko’s surprise, Aang appeared out of nowhere, landing next to them out of midair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s going on? He’s with us now?” the boy asked, referencing Zuko. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I am,” Zuko snapped, “Now help us get out of this situation. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Jeez, be appreciative next time,” Aang mumbled, before taking out a squadron with a blast of super-charged air. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After another ten minutes of fighting, the group had eliminated all of the guards, and quietly entered the temple, slipping from room to room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When they finally arrived at the main hall, adjacent to the throne room, Zuko could hear two voices intertwined. Katara and his Sister. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Shit. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>With a start, he realized that Katara’s voice sounded off. Like, oddly nice and interested. He had never heard her speak like that before, and when he looked over at the other members of the Gaang (Sokka had informed him of their group name on the way to the Palace), he knew they hadn’t either. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is.. is she flirting?” Aang asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“With my sister?” Zuko asked, incredulouly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I- I think so,” Toph said, dumbfounded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Sokka exclaimed, loudly, before Zuko clamped a hand over his mouth; “Shut it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No. No, she can’t be,” Aang said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>At that moment, Azula laughed; a light, twinkling sound, one Zuko had never heard before. She placed a hand on Katara’s arm, and the other girl blushed, smiling back at her. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was right at that moment that Iroh walked in, pushing a cart of tea supplies. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The smile melted off Azula’s face, and Katara looked at her in confusion, before Azula waved her hand, and Ty Lee rushed out from an alcove, disabling Katara and dragging her towards a hole in the floor, which was opened up by a Dai Li agent, standing next to the throne. </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>In shock, the four kids remained hidden, watching in surprise as Iroh glared at Azula, pushing the cart out of the way, and getting into a combat position. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Azula. Niece.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Iroh. Uncle</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” she mimicked him “You </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> didn’t think we couldn’t find you, did you? We were </span>
  <em>
    <span>letting you hide</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really? Then why did it take all this time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula’s nostrils flared; “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Do not patronize me</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” she shouted, firing a warning blast above her Uncle’s head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Always letting your anger get the better of you,” Iroh countered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula responded simply by thrusting fireball after fireball at her Uncle, pushing him down the hall, towards the main doors. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shit,” Zuko murmured, a plan formulating in his mind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I need you guys to go,” he said to the others, “Go with my Uncle. Regroup. I’ll distract her, and try to help Katara as soon as I can. Go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>What</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Sokka sputtered, “We’re not leaving you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, you are,” Zuko stated, “Now go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You heard him,” Toph said, grabbing Sokka and dragging him in the direction they had entered from. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Aang asked, concerned. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko resisted the urge to knock him out right then and there, and just take him back to Ozai. “It’s the best I have. I have to do it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He waved a small goodbye, and vaulted through the passthrough, startling Azula, who whipped around to face him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, </span>
  <em>
    <span>brother</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Too bad you couldn’t make it to serve tea.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He rolled his eyes, “Get over your stupid smalltalk,” he turned to Iroh, “Uncle, you need to go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? I’m not leaving you here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, you are. Go,” Zuko near-shouted, discreetly motioning towards the opening he had come through. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s not going anywhere,” Azula growled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, really?” Zuko asked, before launching everything he could at her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She stumbled back just a bit, and a strand of hair blew into her face, before a look of fury had twisted it into a horrible grimace. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taking advantage of the brief moment he had, Zuko called out, “Uncle, go. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Now</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He turned his attention back to Azula, “I challenge you to an Agni Kai.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She scoffed, “As if I would </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever</span>
  </em>
  <span> agree.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Immediately, Zuko was struck with several blasts, and he ducked behind one of the larger columns. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Always picking fights you can’t win, Zuzu,” she trilled in a singsong voice, “Your face serves as a permanent reminder of that, doesn’t it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Shut up</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he roared, launching a blast back at her, taking her off balance. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>In mock awe, she pretended to cover her mouth in a gasp, “Since when did you learn </span>
  <em>
    <span>so much</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Since I was free from the oppressive influence of </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> and </span>
  <em>
    <span>father</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s one they’ll talk about for days,” she grumbled, before launching several bolts of lighting at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Azula, it doesn’t have to be like this,” he said, trying a new approach. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Like what?” she exclaimed, “Like you betraying your family, </span>
  <em>
    <span>yet again</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Because at this point it really seems like it does.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sighed, at least as much as he could while sprinting from column to column; “Like us constantly fighting. I know that, somewhere inside, you know this is wrong. You know what the fire nation, what our father is doing, is wrong.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she hissed, launching a particularly powerful blast at the column he was leaning against, collapsing it just as he ran away, leading to several of the decorated ceiling tiles smashing against the floor. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>That’s it, I’m done</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” she exclaimed, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Take him out</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seemingly out of nowhere, Ty Lee materialized at Zuko’s side, and before he was even able to do anything, everything went black. </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>He woke up, what seemed like almost immediately after, yet the light in wherever he was was very dim. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Was it already evening? </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>His eyes slowly started to open, but he jerked completely awake when a jet of water slapped across his face; “What the </span>
  <em>
    <span>FUCK</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he exclaimed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blinking, he registered Katara standing on the opposite side of an underground room, the walls and floor made of crumbling rock. She had a gaze of suspicion fixed on him, and a floating tail of water inched towards his face like a venomous snake. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why are you here,” she snapped. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Same as you. Azula didn’t need me anymore so she disposed of me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not an answer.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes it is. I betrayed her so she threw me out. Where are we anyways?” he asked, not having the patience or energy to deal with Katara’s attitude. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“In a cave. The caverns, I think. But that’s not the point. Since when were you not obsessed with ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>Capturing the Avatar</span>
  </em>
  <span>’,” she spat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He blinked. “Since I met your brother.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her brow furrowed, “You’re dating?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko flushed bright red, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>No - no we’re not. </span>
  </em>
  <span>We’re just friends.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Looking at him in mild confusion, she slowly nodded, “Alright… if you say so.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before any other conversation could happen, a piece of rock tore out of the far wall, and Toph, Aang, Sokka, and Iroh appeared in the hole. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, let’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>go</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Toph shouted, beckoning them forward. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The five kids and one elderly man wasted no time, making their way through the maze-like tunnels as fast as they could. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s a big open space up there, I think,” Toph called out, “I can sense an exit point on the far side of it, but there are also vibrations in the room. Probably soldiers.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When they finally arrived, soldiers didn’t even seem to begin to cover it. There was practically an entire army in the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck,” Sokka exclaimed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Language,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Katara reprimanded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, </span>
  <em>
    <span>crap</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he added. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Azula emerged from the opposite side of the room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, well, well, if it isn’t my dearest brother, and his new </span>
  <em>
    <span>friends</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello, Azula.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fancy seeing you again, and teaming up with the entire </span>
  <em>
    <span>Avatar Squad</span>
  </em>
  <span>. How surprised father will be when he finds out.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“I don’t have the time for this,” Zuko muttered, and taking advantage of her focus on his face, he launched a fireball at her, striking her feet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her boots caught on fire, and delayed her just a second as she put them out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>YOU ASS</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” she screamed, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>I was going to go easy on you, but not anymore</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let’s finish this,” Katara said to the rest of them, and before Zuko knew it, Earth, Fire, Water, Air, and various weapons were flying through the room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Even though they had a massive size disadvantage, Team Avatar (</span>
  <em>
    <span>Really, a stupid name,</span>
  </em>
  <span>) had managed to take out over half of Azula’s henchmen, and pushed the rest into the corner. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko wasn’t really sure how it had happened, but Katara had gripped Azula in some sort of weird, octopus-arm-like thing made of water. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A moment later, Mai knifed her in the leg, breaking her concentration and allowing Azula to escape. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She used this to sneak up on Aang, and just when the rest of them weren’t paying attention, she launched one of the most powerful lightning bolts Zuko had ever seen right at the young boy’s chest; blue light arched up to the ceiling, and slammed down to the floor, passing straight through his chest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He instantly fell to the ground, out cold, if not dead, and the room was instantly silent.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone skipped a beat, and then Katara let out an inhuman sound, a scream of pure rage, directed right at Azula. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Water coalesced seemingly out of nowhere, collecting in large floating droplets, which Katara froze into ice spikes, and launched at the opposite side of the room, pinning nearly every remaining opponent, including Ty Lee and Mai, to the wall. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zuko glanced over at Iroh, and saw a glint in the man’s eyes harden, before he stepped towards Azula. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Azula, it doesn’t have to end this way.”</span>
</p><p><span>“</span><em><span>Oh, it doesn’t</span></em><span>? Do you have </span><em><span>any idea</span></em><span> what it’s like for your </span><em><span>own mother </span></em><span> to be afraid of you? </span><em><span>Do you?</span></em> <em><span>For your brother and uncle to hate you so much they won’t even talk to you</span></em><span>?”</span></p><p>
  <span>“We don’t hate you,” Iroh said softly, Zuko nodding.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zuko could’ve sworn he saw something in her gaze soften, but whatever he saw instantly disappeared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Yes. You do</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” She shouted, and lighting emerged from her fists, connecting with the crystals that decorated the ceiling and walls of the cavern. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Go,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” was all Iroh said, but it was all the rest of them needed, taking off towards the exit tunnel. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko looked back once, his heart tearing in half, but it was too late to do anything without getting captured. </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>In the tunnel, they ran into the Earth King and his bear, both chained and gagged and being led to a cell by a pair of guards. The Gaang (</span>
  <em>
    <span>ew, the name,)</span>
  </em>
  <span> immediately took the guards out, and convinced the Earth King to join them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>By the time they made it up into the palace, much of the structure was in chaos, with rubble filling the halls after the main hall had collapsed, likely due to Azula’s destruction of that column, and smoke filling the rooms, with several small fires visible in the distance, towards the north wing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Eventually, they reached the spot where they had come in, and Katara carried Aang straight down the steps and to Appa, immediately followed by Toph, the King, and Bosco. Frankly, Zuko had no idea how they would all fit on the bison, but hey, who was he to judge; he’d only been on Appa once. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Right before they made their way out into the flaming courtyard, Zuko grabbed the sleeve of Sokka’s shirt; “Wait.. Sokka - there’s something I need to tell you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka looked at him, confused, “What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko glanced around, making sure no one else was nearby. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I.. I didn’t like Jin.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka sighed, sounding disappointed, “I know.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Zuko grew frustrated, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>That’s-</span>
  </em>
  <span> That’s not what I mean.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean, then?” Sokka asked, still confused. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I meant… I like you,” Zuko said, with a small voice, and it seemed like at that moment, the entire world shut down; like all sound cut off an was replaced with the thrum of white noise, only to be interrupted by Sokka’s voice;</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I- I like you too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You do</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Zuko asked, barely believing what he had just heard. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka laughed, “Well, I thought I made that pretty obvious.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up. I didn’t notice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That seems to be a recurring theme.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unintentionally, a placid smile spread over Zuko’s face; for the first time in weeks, this weight was finally off his shoulders. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before he knew it, Sokka was leaning in, yet this time, it didn’t feel awkward, it felt right. When Sokka’s lips met his, it was like fireworks were going off inside of him. It felt completely, utterly amazing. Exactly like what he had been waiting for. Sokka’s arms snaked around his back, and Zuko swung his own arms over Sokka’s broad shoulders. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before he could finish savoring the feeling, Sokka pulled away, blushing and with a dumbfounded grin on his face, “I- I don’t want to end it, but we have to go. We don’t have much time.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Yeah… yeah, of course,” Zuko responded, still dazed. </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>They ducked out of the palace, and ran down the steps towards the rest ofo the group, who were waiting quite impatiently. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where </span>
  <em>
    <span>were</span>
  </em>
  <span> you two?” Katara asked, looking up from Aang’s unconscious body, which was already in the saddle, for just a moment. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“We.. um,” Zuko started. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Had to take care of something,” Sokka finished. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Zuko confirmed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara raised an eyebrow, “If you say so, I guess.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Another explosion rang out from the palace as Sokka and Zuko loaded onto the bison, Zuko casting a longing look towards where he had left his uncle. He would get him back, even if now wasn’t the right time. But he would. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Aaaaahhhhh okay so this is the end of the first segment and although I’ll definitely keep writing, I’m going to take a break for like a month to work on an MCU fic I really want to do (check that out maybe….)<br/>Ok so this update may not be the best but it was the best I could do at 2am so let me know your thoughts &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>sorry if i sound repetitive, but thank you so much for reading &lt;3</p><p>feel free to leave comments/suggestions! </p><p>+ (if I made spelling/vocab errors pleaseee correct me)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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